Schneider 38 5.6 XL super angulon coverage

[John Conway]

I know the specs and know it was designed for 6X9 and 6X12. I have read posts on this forum by photographers that have claimed that they have used the 38 5.6 SA on 4X5 with no movements. I would really like to hear from folks that actually use the lens on 4X5. A few images that were made with the 38 XL on 4X5 would be really nice.

[Corran]

It really doesn't cover 4x5 - but you can get a wonderful 4x4 image from it, if you don't mind the square format.

If you focus reallllly close you might get the coverage up to 4x5, but I'm not sure if that's really useful. Yes, wide-angles are often used to exaggerate perspective, but you'd have to be so close to the primary subject that you'd likely interfere with the light or have your tripod in the shot.

Here's an example of the full 4x5 frame when shot at roughly infinity:

http://www.oceanstarproductions.com/photosharing/38-no-cover.jpg

Close but no cigar. Also note you have to make absolutely sure your standards are parallel left-to-right or the image goes really wonky, and also getting a camera to even focus this lens is not easy.

Regarding the aforementioned square crop, this is my favorite photo, taken at the same place obviously:

http://www.oceanstarproductions.com/photosharing/grandbay38mm-0084ss.jpg

By the way, the above is WITH the center filter. There is still quite a bit of vignetting even with it, especially on chromes of course. Be sure to get the CF. I use it even on 6x9 images.

I did a test and if you want to crop just the littlest bit off the edge of the film so as to remove the vignetting, you get pretty much exactly the image that a 47mm XL would make. So I suggest keeping the 38mm XL reserved for 6x12 (or other MF formats) or go for a square crop if you are looking for that kind of composition. Fun lens, I've been using it a lot lately on 6x7 and 6x9, as you can see in the MF threads.

[John Conway]

Thank you for the info. What are my options on the center filter ? Do I have to use a schneider filter or are there after market options? Can the center filter be used with other lenses?

[Oren Grad]

Thank you for the info. What are my options on the center filter ? Do I have to use a schneider filter or are there after market options? Can the center filter be used with other lenses?

Schneider's recommended filter for the 38 SA-XL is the IIA, which has a 72mm mounting thread and requires a 2-stop exposure correction. Rodenstock offers a 72mm-mount center filter for their own digital lenses, but it requires a 2.5-stop correction, and if you can find one it's likely to be far more expensive than the Schneider. I don't know if Heliopan ever offered a 72mm center filter; I can't find any center filters in their current price list.

[Corran]

I highly recommend the appropriate IIA Schneider CF. It mates to this lens just perfectly and does not impede the coverage at all, when compared to without. The front filter threads are 82mm which is much better than the 86mm front threads of the 47XL and 58XL CFs.